What Are the Seven Churches - Triumph Pro

1 1 A New Look at The Seven Churches of Revelation jesus christ said, "I will build my Church" ( :18). Was that Church foretold to always be UNITED, and of one accord ? Was it to always be pristine and pure? what is the real meaning of the Seven letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation? Do they describe different types of people in the Church? Do o they picture the Church down through the ages, in a a historical sense? what is their message of our age and generation, today? William F. Dankenbring jesus christ told Peter and the apostles, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it ( :18). That church was to never die, or disappear, or vanish from sight.

2 It would always exist, and continue to be, in one form or another, till the end of the age, when christ would return! But would the Church always be united -- singular -- in perfect oneness? jesus , in His final prayer for the church before His death, prayed that the Father would keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE, as we are (John 17:11). He added, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they ALL MAY BE ONE .. that they may be one, even as we are one (verses 20-22). Does this mean that the church would never be divided ? That it would never be split into various branches, or divisions, or various groups independent of each other, each answering solely to christ ? Yet in the first century of the Church, the apostle Paul had to excoriate the Corinthian Church for its pride and divisive conduct.

3 He rebuked them saying, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in christ . I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and DIVISIONS among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? (I :1-4, NKJV). 2 These disputes and divisions did not disappear from the church after Paul s rebuke. Over the course of the first century, eventually entire Churches split off and became independent. Paul warned the Churches in Galatia, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of christ , to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of christ ( :6-7).

4 The entire New Testament is filled with warnings to God s people about apostasy, divisions, false teachers causing division in the flock, and the need to be steadfast, steady, and hang on to the truth and Word of God. Paul warned the church at Ephesus, when he was about to leave them, saying, For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears (Acts 20:27-31).

5 By the time the apostle John wrote his third epistle, about 90 , he warned a church in Asia Minor, I wrote to the church but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminense among them, does not receive us .. prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church (III John 9-10). Clearly, the church ran into serious spiritual headwinds, and opposing forces tore at the church, from its very inception. Some of the ministers in the church began to have divisions among themselves, and others broke away entirely with their flocks, with many of them becoming independent in authority and government, and the very teachings of the original church began to be watered down, changed here and there, and doctrinal differences and disputes arose over time.

6 The history of the church has not been a pretty picture. It has been a scene of carnage, persecution, apathy, compromise, division, and apostasy. Many fell away from the truth entirely. Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith, saying, This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me (II :15). He warned, But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (II :13). what Do You Mean, One TRUE Church ? In the last few years, I have seen and experienced wolves in sheep's clothing, trying to join with me in this Work of God, who since proved to be virulent predators who led a few people off into the netherworld of religious apostasy. Unfortunately, those few who followed such were ripe for the picking or plucking -- their own attitudes were wrong, in some crucial way, and so God allowed them to be led off into the religious boondocks and wilderness.

7 God allows such things to happen. We know that these things must happen -- why? For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you (I :19). These tests which come upon God's people separate the sheep from the goats, as it were. They prove to be a sort of litmus test of the reality of the 3 faith and obedience of those who profess to follow christ ! When we look at church history, it becomes very apparent that fractures, divisions, and schisms, often occurred to the Church of God. Most of the resultant groups went into varying forms of religious apostasy, and departed from the truth, and could no longer be called correctly, the church of God. They had been infiltrated, conned, and taken over by Satan the seductive devil and his devious minions.

8 However, history and Biblical prophecy also prove that there have been and can be divisions of various degrees WITHIN the spiritual body of christ , as well! There is no doubt that divisions and differences have occurred in the true church of God, throughout its history, due to human nature, human imperfection, and weakness -- as well as human sins, and goats among the sheep! jesus Himself said that the wheat and tares would dwell IN the church, side by side, TILL THE HARVEST (second coming), which itself leads to a certain amount of division and contention within the visible church (see :36-43). jesus warned FIRST for us to beware of false prophets and teachers because they would be the church's MAJOR DANGER -- further evidence of strife, division, and splits occurring within the true church ( :11).

9 Divisions in Paul's Day Paul beseeched the Corinthians not to allow divisions to crop up among them (I :10). It was reported to Paul that there were contentions among you, as he wrote to them, admonishing them to watch out for such things ( ). These were serious contentions, so Paul asked them, Is christ divided? ( ). No -- of course not! christ is ONE. But apostasy set in within the first century church, and communication was not easy from church to church, so local congregations began to become more and more independent. DIVISION set in! Those with the Spirit of God guiding them, remained loyal to the truth, but more and more differences of opinion crept in, after the departure of the original apostles. Some of these Churches were still God s Church, even though various differences had crept in.

10 They had not yet made major changes in doctrine which militated against their being considered Christian in God s sight. They had various problems -- but they were not yet sick unto death -- spiritual death! This was the CHURCH OF GOD, with all of its spots and wrinkles. Clearly, it had carnal-minded ministers and leaders, in some cases, and there were arguments, debates, and strife. One of the major issues of that day was whether a Gentile needed to be circumcised and become a Jew in order to be saved. This controversy led to a major doctrinal meeting in Jerusalem over the issue (Acts 15). So even the New Testament Church, as we see, was NOT united. There were DIVISIONS in the church. Yet christ is NOT divided. But experience proves that human beings, even those who STRIVE to follow Him, can be divided, and have differences of opinions about many things -- policies, judgments, prophecies, even some doctrines.